The proliferation of the World Wide Web through the Internet has made a wealth of content available to a user with nearly instantaneous access time. Much of the content available is in multimedia (i.e., audio and/or video) format, including music, video and news reports. The user can request specific content and retrieve the content on any computer and/or processor-enabled device anywhere there is a connection to the Internet. Users may purchase the content over the Internet using subscription management systems which control and track the content being delivered. Alternatively, users can also purchase content, with controls being placed on the purchased content.
Conventional subscription management methods allow users to rent digital content as part of a recurring subscription fee. The subscription method allows a user to pay a set fee and access (e.g., download or stream) a predefined amount of content for that fee over a set period of time. The fee is charged regardless of whether the user downloads no content or if the user downloads the maximum amount of content allowed during that period. There are different levels of subscription fees that are related to the amount of content allowed to be downloaded or streamed in a given period of time, usually a month. The pay-as-you-go system requires the user to pay for the content he actually downloads or streams. There is no subscription fee that needs to be renewed after a period of time. In the pay-as-you-go system, the user can browse for content and download that content at any time and download as much content as the user is willing to pay for.
The conventional subscription services use a basic system configuration. In this system the provider can have a Content Server where all the content is stored for access by a user. This system can also include a means to monitor a user's account and control access to the content. Both the monitoring and control means and the Content Server can either be in communication with each other or can be part of the same system.
In the case of purchased content, controls may be placed on the use of the content. These controls may take the form of limits on how many times the content may be used and which machine and/or playback devices the content may be used with. These types of controls for purchased content are essentially permanent in the sense that the seller no longer has any connection to the content after the purchase. Thus, the controls may not be changed or modified after the purchase.
Regardless of how the user pays for access to content, the above systems generally suffer from the same disadvantage. This disadvantage is the lack of continued control over the content once it is downloaded. The two types of conventional subscription management systems described above make checks on the user's status in regard to the amount of content downloaded, but once the content is removed from the provider's server and saved to the user's computer, the provider loses all control over the content. Thus, the user can make numerous copies of the content and have the content on numerous computers. The fact that a user might make numerous unauthorized copies from the one copy paid for is of great concern for the protection of the content author's and the content owner's rights and must be taken into account when fees are being set. Every copy a user makes is a lost sale of the content, and thus lost revenue. The revenues must be recouped and the typical way to recoup them is to increase the price of the content. The fact that a copy of digital content is the same quality as the original content removes a barrier to copying because there is no reduction in quality from repetitive copying. Thus, losing control of the content once the user gains control of the content file reduces profitability and can lead to numerous other problems, such as copyright infringement and the like.
In the case of subscription purchase of content, there is an essential need for a method and apparatus that is capable of tracking and disabling the content downloaded on to a user's computer once a user terminates the subscription. That is because in the subscription model, the user is renting the content, and has not purchased ownership rights. The present invention satisfies the need for disabling the content of a terminating subscriber, while continually renewing the content rights for users whose account remains in good standing, without a burdensome and unfriendly user experience, such as forcing the user to manually select content for renewal in each new subscription period.
There is a need for a method and apparatus that is capable of tracking and protecting content once it is downloaded on to a user's computer. Control of the content once it is on the user's computer can reduce the risk that unauthorized copies can be created. This control can allow for greater sales of the content as the number of unauthorized copies is diminished. The increase in sales can lower the amount needed to be charged for the content to recoup the initial investment and make a profit, thus lower prices can be passed on to the consumers. The present invention satisfies the need for control over the content and other needs.